Mozambique

Merry Pemba Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you are all well. I am so happy to be writing on this beautiful Pemba Christmas Eve. The last days and weeks have been so rich with so many sweet blessings from Jesus.

I just returned from 10 days in the BushBush with my amazing team of Harvest students and Mozambican bible students. It was wonderful. We had the best time- so much fun and laughter and joy. We got to share the Good News of Jesus in several different villages and see so many people decide they want to follow Him. Every person who asked me for prayer was healed by sweet Jesus- headaches, pain in knees, stomach aches, all sorts of pains- touched by the love of our sweet savior. It was so beautiful. Thank you Jesus for your kindness and faithfulness.

The last few days here in Pemba have been packed with Christmas preparation and school clean up. It’s been so fun and so different to have a small team of only about 40 of us remaining Harvest schoolers around. Tonight we had our Christmas Eve celebration with all the Iris kids. We watched as students performed a wonderful nativity play, we sang songs, and we had holy chaos as each child was given a lit candle to hold. It turned into a game of who could blow out everyone else's candle quite quickly. Heidi and I had a good laugh as some students sang Silent Night while everyone was running around yelling and blowing out each others candles. Holy chaos at it’s finest. I love the way things happen here. Tomorrow we will feed about 5,000 people for Christmas day, hallelujah! What a beautiful, hot, busy Christmas!

Thank you for your continued prayers as time wraps up here in Pemba. It’s so strange to be away from home and family for the first time in the Christmas season, but it is very helpful to know I am right where Jesus wants me. Please keep me and my family in your prayers as the holidays continue.

I would also love your prayers as I begin the next step in this journey... I have exciting news to share... on my way home to America I will be making a stop over in India! :) Jesus started speaking to me about making plans to visit India after the school early in my time in Pemba and things are getting all arranged now. Please keep my in your prayers as I go to Joberg in the next week to get my visa and begin the journey. Thank you so much for your love and support. I am so blessed by my family and friends encouraging me as I go.

I can’t wait to share more stories soon about the wonderful work of Jesus. May you each be blessed with joy as you celebrate the birth of our beautiful Jesus. Thank you Lord for coming to this earth to make a way for me to enter into the Father’s arms. Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, love, love,
Kelly

Winding down, winding up :)

2011-12-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hello beauties,

Wow it has been a long time since I have blogged. I am so very sorry for not keeping you all updated and in the know. Things have been so wildly busy.

School is now over. Wow. It's hard to believe. The first load of students went home today. Everything has been a whirlwind. We celebrated with lots of joy and singing and dancing at graduation yesterday. People were blessed with prayers and covering from Mama Aida, Papa Rolland, Pastor Supresa, Mel Tari and many others. We had a blast going around and blessing the students and commissioning them into their destinies. It's been an amazing honor to be among so many heros of the faith here. I am excited to see these students extend the glory of God into every corner of the earth. Hallelujah! Lord let your kingdom come!

In 2 days I head back into the Bush Bush :) This time for 10 days! Whewy! Leading a team of 30, about 15 Harvest Students & 15 Mozambican Missions students/pastors. We are going to have a blast! So thankful for your prayers for protection, health, and most importantly- the presence of God. May we do nothing apart from Him and His presence. May we listen to the sound of His voice telling us the ways in which to go. May we see his eyes in the eyes of the poor, lonely, lost and forgotten, May we see His spirit break through in love and in power. May we see the miraculous love of God manifest itself in joy. Please pray for energy and strength as I and the students are coming off of some pretty hectic schedules and ready to jump right in!

You all are so beautiful. Thank you for joining me in the adventures and endeavors the Lord sets before me. I cannot wait to sit with each of you and tell stories of what the Lord has done in and around me over the last months. He is beautiful beyond words.

Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. May you each be blessed with His goodness and kindness and mercies anew each day. Love to you!
Kelly

Updates from Outreach

2011-11-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

(a post written on tuesday morning but unable to be uploaded til thursday night :) i love pemba)

Hello beautiful ones!

I hope you are enjoying the beauty of the day where you are. Here in Pemba it’s another perfect day- sunny, breezy and hot :) and I am sitting in my hammock enjoying a peaceful, quiet morning before heading to class to hear Heidi speak.

Thank you for your prayers for outreach. It was phenomenal. Absolutely amazing. We loaded up our truck of about 15 Harvest Students & 15 Mozambican Bible School students and rode about 2 1/2 hours away from base to a village to share the love of Jesus. We also brought along Jesus, Father God, and the Holy Spirit so everything ran smoothly :) He led us in exactly how to speak and minister. Our team worked so well together as we set up tents in the King of the Village’s yard. (Just a reminder that we in the Kingdom are all royalty :) We went over to a large field and showed the Jesus Film, danced, preached, gave testimony and prayed for people to receive Jesus and to be healed from all sorts of illnesses.

To be honest the first night was a little difficult for me because as we went into the crowds to pray swarms of kids were coming up & mocking. This is a village that has been visited by Iris before and has a church plant so they knew a little of what to expect. Kids were coming up pretending to need prayer for deaf ears when they really could hear fine. There was just a lot of ridicule coming from the children & it was really making me upset because I hated to see the name of Jesus being mocked. But we prayed for people and we saw God doing miraculous healings then we headed back to camp to sleep after a very long day.

The next morning I woke up and opened the bible to several passages where Jesus is talking about children. Jesus reminded me that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the children. He reminded me how much he loves the children. He reminded me that he said never to hinder a child from coming him. His heart is so beautiful. I repented for my frustrations with the kids from the night before and I asked God to give me new eyes.

So throughout the day of Friday I spent my time helping with the children’s ministry- seeing kids truly enter into worship and prayer and have fun learning about Jesus. We played games and laughed and sang and gave out food. It was beautiful.

That evening as I sat in the dirt about to go up to pray for the sick I sat with two beautiful girls I had met earlier (maybe about 6 & 8 in age). As I sat there they laid their hands on me and began to pray. It was so beautiful. I felt the Lord preparing me to go and minister. So as I went out into the crowd I brought those 2 beautiful princesses with me & had then lay hands on everyone with me & pray with me. And guess what- the Kingdom came! Because it belongs to the children! We saw a woman with a hurt knee be healed, we saw headaches disappear, we saw a woman with pain in her elbow & knee be healed, we saw a man who couldn’t lift his arm because it was in so much pain raise his hand and thank Jesus for his healing! Others on the team saw deaf ears open up, dizziness disappear, we prayed for men to be set free of alcoholism. It was altogether beautiful. I just keep praising and thanking Jesus for letting me be a part of something so incredibly majestic. God is good.

So thank you for your prayers. Thank you for sowing into the kingdom.

I’m working on catching up on rest & enjoying all the goodness He has for me here each day. Each day is so full- full of His love and mercies and kindness and joy. Yesterday I got to treat my family of boys and their mom to a lunch of chicken and fries at Iris’ restaurant. Whew you should have seen their smiles. It was wonderful. We had a great time laughing & fellowshipping. They are a beautiful family. Thank you for your continued prayers for them. Yesterday their Mama and I had a really sweet time in church worshipping and praying & weeping together. I love that God’s Spirit works and moves through us even when we are unable to communicate. He still knows the cries of our hearts and he is able to minister despite and language barriers. Hallelujah.

Ok. I have a million other stories of how wonderfully glorious and faithful Jesus has been but I am going to sign out for now. I pray you each are enjoying the beauty of where you are. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to build relationships with the students here in the school.

Sending you lots and lots of LOVE!
Kelly

Enjoying the Beauty

2011-10-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hello beautiful ones!!

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last update. Things have really picked up speed here in Pemba. Since my last update students have arrived, classes are three weeks in, the base has been flooded with children from the village, teams have gone on outreach, and the goodness of God has continued to spread all over :) hallelujah.

Things in Pemba are so wonderful. So very busy and so very wonderful. I have an amazing room full of beautiful women from literally all around the world- Norway, America, Brazil, Estonia (i had to ask where that one was), New Zealand :) Canada, England and Maputu (in southern Mozambique). So cool! In total I am over 2 rooms of 8 girls each. Our 2 newest roommates just arrived this past weekend after traveling up from the Iris base in Maputu. They are beautiful Mozambican women with hearts to love and serve God. It has been so much fun to be around them. We would love your prayers for community and communication because they mostly speak Portuguese & Shangan (the tribal language around Maputu). So far things have been wonderful though. The other girls are so fantastic as well. Thank you for your prayers. They have been such a blessing, loving and encouraging me. It has been really fun to be here & in community. :) :) :)

Classes have been really fun. We have had a couple different missionary speakers give testimony and tell about their hearts. My favorite part so far has just been the worship. So good. The presence of God is so full and sweet here. I am constantly amazed and blessed as God reveals more of Himself to me in worship and then I am even more amazed when I get to go around praying for people and seeing God work in their lives through me. Wow. It has been so crazy amazing to see and feel him use me to touch and bless the students and the other staff. I just love it.

His JOY is so good. Everywhere I go I just get to carry His joy. :) It's so wonderful. Thank you Jesus for your love & joy & presence & the life you have given us!

My time with my boys has been lots of fun. I get to see them most days and we have a good time- going into the village, playing soccer, eating the most fantastic meals ever at their mom's house, trying to stay out of too much trouble :) Every time I see them I just praise Jesus for being so faithful to bring me back here to a place I love so much with people I love so much. In church the other day in worship Fogas came and sat by me & I just began to weep thinking about the goodness of God. I love these kids so very much & God is so very kind to let me see them & love on them. I can remember so many days away from them when all I wanted to do was be able to hug them & love on them & he heard my cries & answered me. Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus. So good. And so very faithful. Saying that, I would also love your prayers for how to love and encourage them. Some days are very hard because they are very needy & very broken. it's easy to be seen here as a white missionary who can provide for their every want/need. But I want them to see that Jesus is the real provider and that I am just a vessel. I want to be attentive to His Spirit and when He is leading me to give & what He is leading me to say & how He is leading me to love.

I love our God. He is so good. He is faithful in the big and the small things. He is a provider. He has given us all we ever need. Many people have spoken about the fact that God has given us all we need- His love & power & strength & joy & grace. He gave it all. It has all already been given. We just need revelations of it. We need to see & recognize & call out what he has placed inside of us. thank you God that you have already given me everything I need to be staff here, to love kids here, to minister to students here, to fulfill my destiny, to fulfill my daily tasts, to lead outreaches here, to simply love the people around me, to worship you. It's all in me. Help me to discover more of it within me, more of You within me. :)

I don't know what all to write about. There is just so much. I am thankful for the girls around me in my home. I am thankful for all the students here (265, wow!) who have such hearts to go after God. Worship has been so amazing, surrounded by so many people with hearts to seek God. I am just in awe every day. I am thankful for the beautiful body of Christ here- the Mozambicans and the internationals from all over the world. I am thankful that God is helping me learn the language (vaccani, vaccani- slowly slowly in Makua). I am thankful for the beautiful Indian ocean I get to see everyday. I am thankful for the wonderful staff I get to serve alongside and how much fun we are having together. I am thankful for all of your prayers and encouragement & patience with me in slow communication. I am thankful for good health & good sleep.

You are wonderful, beautiful, precious. Thank you for your prayers. I would love more prayers for continued energy and strength. Everyday is so full- breakfast served at 6:30, class from 8-1, lunch, then afternoons filled with playing with kids or helping serve in some way, dinner, night classes or meetings, and bedtime. All filled with lots of valuable time in between of loving on students & getting to know the people God has surrounded me with here. It's a pretty sweet deal, just a bit tiring some days :) but God is good and His grace is sufficient. I would also love your prayers as I continue to try to learn the language.

AH! And prayers for leading outreach. I will be leading a team out the weekend of October 27. I don't know yet where, but we will head to some area of the bush bush and share the love of Jesus! My team is amazing. About 16 internationals and 15 or so Mozambicans. Please really be covering us in prayer over our time out- from thursday-saturday. We will be sharing the love of Jesus, preaching, praying, seeing God show up in glorious ways, camping in tents, riding on loooong rides on dirt roads, ministering among the poorest of the poor, performing a children's program, seeing so much need, and doing whatever the Spirit leads us into :) It's going to be so good. Please pray that we are able to communicate the love of God clearly & whatever else the Spirit leads you to pray :) thank you thank you thank you. I can't wait to share stories of the miraculous ways God brings more of His children home :) hallelujah!

Ok, it's getting late here in pemba... 9:45 haha so I am going to head to bed. (you can also pray for us all to have grace in this HOT HOT weather :) ) it is hot... all z time.

Thank you all. So much love to each of you. I would love to hear from you whenever you have time- email, facebook, here- whatever. It's always so good to hear how you are and what Jesus is up to where you are.

LOVE!
Kelly

Back in Pemba! Hallelujah!

2011-09-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like I could start all my blog entries with the title “Jesus is Good!” Because He just is.

My first few days in Pemba have been spectacular. Wonderful beyond words. So much goodness has taken place I don’t even know if I can type it all :) I like it this way.

Everything is very much the same, and very different at the same time. It was very strange to be back the first day. I didn’t realize how much my heart recognized all the sights & smells of Mozambique. It was crazy, so much came flooding back.

So i got here on a Saturday afternoon and had a good time meeting some staff & just being reminded how things run here. I have a bit of relearning to do, but is good. I had forgotten how different life was here. It is beautiful and simple, but a very very big shift from the way I am used to living. But thank you Jesus for the joy in it all!

Sunday was amazing. A perfect gift from above. I went to church here on base and in worship I see Mama Afia (the mother of Carlitus, etc) & I just run over to her shedding tears of joy. It was so so wonderful. She told me she was going to walk all the way home (a good 15 minute walk) to her village to tell the boys I was here so they could come see me. A while later she returns, followed not long after by Carlitus. Oh my goodness. He is so grown up. He has gotten so big. I just held him & cried I was so happy to see him. Jesus is so good. Thank you God for beautiful reunions. Later that day Focas & Hasam came to the base to see me & that was wonderful too. A day full of lots of hugs & smiles & laughs & joy. So good to be with them.

Also in church there was a woman who I had just met (honestly I cant even remember her name) & as the church was taking up the offering (during which i had no idea what was going on because the service is only in Makua & Portuguese right now) this beautiful Mozambican woman with a baby strapped around her back comes over & puts a coin in my hand so I can give to the offering. Wow. God your people are beautiful. It was very humbling & very beautiful. Such a gift. Thank you Jesus for how you move and work. The whole service was very moving, just having children all around me at all times, loving on me & worshipping with me. I love this place so much. So much beauty.

Today we spent the morning getting the houses set up for students to come. :) Can’t wait for them to start rolling in a couple weeks. I get the honor & joy of being the House Mom for House of Peace C and I just know its going to be wonderful. I am really excited for all He has in store.

I spent the afternoon at the boys house, ironically without them there. I just hung out with Mama & her daughter, Laucinda (19) and their older brother Papaitus (18) who speaks pretty good English. Most of the time it was just me & people who don’t speak English though so it was a pretty funny time of just sitting in the dirt together. I love this place. In America the whole situation would’ve been so awkward but here it was perfect. Laucinda did my nails after I complimented her black nail polish. It reminded me very much of the time I allowed her to put Mesha in my hair, which made me nervous. Their nail polish is some strange gray substance (reminds me of cement) that she put on with a toothpick, let dry/harden and then wiped off, leaving my nails black. I’m curious to see how long this lasts and what exactly it does to my nails... aye TIA (this is Africa) Sidenote: when she finished my nails Mama took the leftover goop & put it in Papaitus hair as hairdye i guess? So strange. So very strange. But it was a wonderful afternoon.

Tonight we had a cookout with the staff, first time eating a steak in Mozambique, pretty good. Now it is getting late (almost 9:15pm) and I am ready for bed. I hope & pray your all are well. Thanks for reading the long updates. I feel like I could write a million more pages about the goodness of God & all that is happening here but I will save some for later. God is good. I am thankful for each minute here. Thank you for your prayers and love, I can’t express how much they mean to me.

a verse i discovered this morning-
1 Corinthians 8:1- “while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.”
whew. amen Jesus. I pray we are all filled with more of His love each day. I pray we continue to learn how to love where we are and who we are with each day. Thank you for the love you share with me. Blessings and love to each of you!

ps- thank you for all the prayers because all of my luggage made it with me on the plane. First miracle of the trip- check!

Jesus is Good!!

2011-09-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

I could list you a million reasons why but I will try to limit it to a few:

the journey has begun!! i am safe in jo-berg. all my flights went smoothly, i slept a little bit on the 15+ hour flight :), i was seated between two amazing women- one from Germany who teaches New Testament studies at Berkley- wow, and one who is from South Africa but living in Chicago (shout out to LORI) with her husband. There were also 3 pastors sitting in the row in front of me & I was reminded that "i am surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" thank you jesus! ok other reasons Jesus is good- got to be sent off by the 3 best roommates in the whole world (no arguments please, i know it is true), i am staying at the cutest little bunk house run by an older couple who are the SWEETEST, the wife is a cancer survivor and told me all about her story- wow, and there are some other cool people staying here from all over- australia, cookeville,tn (haha, small world) and Minnesota and i dont know where else. my cell phone miraculously worked here and i got to talk to mom. i felt completely wrapped up in prayers and love all day long, my heart was so moved every time i thought of all the love & support i have been covered in. thank you all so much. let's see- tomorrow i will be in the Pemba dirt! glory glory hallelujah! i want to go to bed right now so i can wake up, hop on my plane & see all the faces of those i love. :) ok those are a few good reasons to praise Jesus :)

also, as i was in the airport waiting painfully for my first flight for like 2 hours because we got there so early i had some time to read & journal & i wanted to share what God showed me because its really wonderful...

1 Corinthians 1:2-5
1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

-that's Paul talking, about he came to teach and preach only through the Holy Spirit, not by his own skills or wisdom. He decided to know nothing but Jesus. Thank you Jesus- that that's all you ask of me. I just have to seek you out, rely on you. You don't ask me to be well-versed or well-spoken. You just ask me to know you & rely on your Spirit. Such a comfort. Even Paul came in weakness- timid and trembling. Whew, what a consolation. thank you God that all the glory is Yours.

prayer requests-
~that my baggage gets all the way to pemba :) haha they said it was checked all the way through so i didnt have to get it tonight but i'm not 100% sure about that... :)
~continued health and energy
~unity and sweet connections with the other staff members as we begin to meet up.

Love to each of you! Can't wait to send you an update from Pemba!!! :)
kelly

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

2011-08-22T14:47:00.001-07:00

Precious friends and family,

I hope this finds each of you well. I am writing because I have exciting news to share! I have just been accepted to help staff the next Iris Harvest School of Missions in Mozambique. This means I get the joy and honor and delight of returning to Pemba, Mozambique for the next few months to love on children and see others trained and equipped for taking the Gospel to the nations. I am excited beyond words! Jesus is so good and faithful to bring me back to a place I love so much.
Most of you will remember two summers ago when I attended the Harvest School of Missions and fell even more in love with God and His people. Many of you gave of your resources- prayers, funds, encouragement, and I just wanted to sincerely thank you again. Your gifts are absolutely invaluable. My time in Pemba was a life-changing experience that I hold very dearly in my heart. In Pemba I learned more of the Love of God- tasting and seeing His goodness for myself. I saw Jesus move in power, with signs and wonders. I saw people come into saving knowledge of Jesus. I saw pastors being equipped to teach and share the Word of God. I saw children being taken in, loved, fed and transformed by the glory of God. I saw people worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. And I was invited to join in all of these endeavors! So beautiful.
I am so thankful for this chance to return with a new role. I will be serving as a staff member for the school which means I will be leading teams on outreach into the “bush-bush,” being available for ministry and prayer, being a “house parent” for some of the students in attendance and many other duties involving service and love. I really covet your prayers in this time of stepping into a leadership position. I know Jesus has called me to this place and I trust He will provide and equip me with everything I need. Still, I am asking for your prayers for wisdom, leadership from a place of love, strength, health, endurance, and anything else the Lord places on your heart to pray. Having a leadership role is much different from being a student at the school and so I am sincerely asking that you remember me in your prayers. The focus is not as centered on me, but on the students we are equipping for the work of the Kingdom. Your prayers are valuable and crucial to the work of the Kingdom and I am thankful beyond words for them! I know that I cannot carry out my responsibilities without the strength of Jesus and the power of your prayers.
And now, for some practicalities... I will be leaving on September 15th to begin the journey to Pemba. I ask that you please pray for my travels- safety, luggage making it with me, energy. Also, please pray that everything comes together in time for the trip, particularly my visa. As you can tell time is short between now and when I leave and so I ask that you join with me in trusting Jesus to provide all I need! :) I land in Pemba September 17th and spend my first two weeks there primarily with staff members- setting up, preparing for the students to come. The school begins October 3rd and runs through December 10th. Again, please pray for me as I lead and minister to these students from all over the world and all different stages of life. After the school I will immediately be leading a team of students into the “bush-bush” for a 10 day outreach where we will be traveling to different unreached villages in Mozambique, camping out and sharing the Gospel and seeing people come to Jesus! After that I return to Pemba for Christmas with the children at the Arco Iris Children’s Center! I am so excited for this chance to share Christmas with these beautiful children of God! I will be flying back to the states December 28th and covet your prayers for that time as well.
That was a lot of details, I know. Just wanted to give you all an outline of my time so you will have more of an idea of how to be praying. I also plan on keeping up with the blog that I stared two years ago when I first traveled to Pemba. The web address is http://irisharvest.blogspot.com/ and I will do my best to update frequently with praises and requests and amazing stories of what God is up to!
Also, for those of you who remember my trip two years ago to Pemba you will probably remember the family of boys I basically adopted as brothers- Jere (age 4, went to be with Jesus in heaven in May 2010), Hasam (age 7), Focas (age 12), and Carlitus (age 15). I just wanted to share the amazing news that I will be reuniting with them! Praise Jesus! My heart thrills at the thought of holding them in my arms again and loving on them and seeing the little men of God they are growing into. I also ask for your prayers as I seek to love on them and speak life over them and minister to them and their family. When I was in Pemba before God made it very clear to me that a main reason He brought me there was to love on those boys so I am very excited to be reunited and see what He has been doing in and through them since we were last together.
So, I ask that you join me in praising Jesus for His faithfulness! He is a good, good God and I am so excited to go and serve Him! I thank you immensely for your prayers and your encouragement, love and support. Please feel free to write me while I am preparing and while I am away- kazimmer@samford.edu. I look forward to sharing stories about the goodness and grace of God! Thank you for sowing into the work of the Kingdom. I pray your are blessed and filled with all the love and fullness of God.

Overflowing with love and gratitude,
Kelly Zimmerman

Home Again, Home Again

2009-08-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Knoxville Tennessee! We are home! After 31 long hours of traveling Chelsey and I made it back safe and sound to our families last night. Thank you so much for all of the prayers. Our travels were great, we made every flight with plenty of time, they all ran smoothly. It was great. God is so good. That is one thing I have learned more this summer. God is so good. He is for us and not against us. And he works all things together for our good. Before we left Pemba, Chelsey and I went to confirm our flights with LAM (the airline we were flying out on) and we were told that our reservations had been cancelled. The airline had given away our seats. Mind you this is 2 days before we are supposed to leave, and they told us there was nothing we could do but show up and the airport and try to get on, or wait 4 more days and leave Sunday. Ha! But instead of freaking out, Chelsey and I just prayed about it and had peace and just knew that we were getting on the plane on Wednesday. God is our provider and he was going to take care of us. So we showed up at the Pemba airport on Wednesday, went up to the desk and came away with our two tickets, no problem. God is so good! So from that point, our travels were completely smooth, minus some sickness along the way, but again, the Lord took care of us and we were able to laugh about the fact that were getting sick in just about every airport we stopped at...

So I realize I haven't blogged in quite a while, there is so much to say. Since my last blog I have graduated from Harvest school, gone on my second bush outreach, had my hair braided by some Mozambican friends (only to end up looking like bob marley and have to immediately take them out, pictures to come), eaten my last bowl of rice and beans for a long time, had tonsilitis, given out about 300 dum dums, taken countless photos, played on the beach, celebrated heidi baker's 50th birthday, and sung lots and lots of Makua songs...

We left Iris Wednesday afternoon, which was hard, but we just keep remembering that we are moving forward into something new and not just leaving something behind. God has so much more in store for the future and I am excited to see what it holds. I am so so thankful for the summer and all the experiences God has given me. He has been so faithful to fill me with so much joy since leaving. Chelsey and I would just sit on the plane and crack jokes about all the hilarious and amazing memories we had made, with children and new friends and each other. I really am just ready to burst and tell you so many stories... most of them having to do with my mozambican brothers, you'll probably be sick of hearing about them within a few days :) Let me see if I can't load a few pictures...
Asam aka Monkey
Focas

Carlitu

The hardest part about leaving was of course saying bye to my boys. The 3 days prior to leaving I had to fight back tears just about any time we were all together. But we had such a sweet, sweet time in our last days. I took them to town and let them each pick out one new outfit, because they had literally worn the same on outfit every day all summer. So they picked out these really cute matching shorts and t-shirts... after much deliberation. They had a great time deciding what to get. But then we came back to Iris and they put on their new clothes and we had a photo shoot, and I'm telling you, they are the most beautiful boys in Pemba. They were so happy and having a blast snapping photos. I will have to find a way to load some on here... Then Focas made a slingshot for Tommy and Carlitu wanted me to take his only other shirt back to the states to give to Tommy. I'm telling you, these boys about broke my heart with their kindness in the last few days. Focas had been given some money by one of the other missionaries and he used it to buy me a beautiful necklace and then he kept wanting to buy me snacks and drinks with what he had left over. It was unreal. With the little that thier family had, in the last days they wanted to pour it all out on me. So beautiful. What an amazing picture of the body of Christ and what it looks like to love.

So on the day we left for the airport, the boys showed up at Iris at 7:30am and we spent the whole day together before I had to leave at 11 to head to the airport. First we sat and talked/cried together. I told them about what a blessing they had been to me and how I know God has a huge calling on each of their lives. They just sat and listened and cried as I shared with them more about how much God loves them as his sons. It was a really precious memory. Then we dedided to stop being sad and go have some fun so we went to the beach for a walk and played around by the pier for a while. Then we headed back to base so I could finish packing my bag and see their mom and littlest brother who had come to say bye to me. So precious. I don't remember how much I've written about their mom or family, but she is so sweet. She's this tiny little woman raising 5 of the rowdiest boys you'll ever meet, along with her daughter and grandaughter who she takes care of and another little boy whose parents passed away and had nowhere else to go. Talk about a full house. But she would always invite me over to their house, a little mud hut in the local village where we would all sit together in the dirt. The boys would have to translate if we wanted to say anything because she mostly just spoke Makua, so we mostly just laughed and watched the boys. She loves to laugh. Anyway, Mama Laucinda came to say goodbye and we all sat by the playground my last few minutes before it was time to go. I got to thank them for all their love and friendship and for what blessings they had been, and then I prayed over the family. We gave our final hugs with lots of tears. It was really beautiful, definitely a time I will never forget.

And now I am back home. It is so strange. In some ways it feels so normal to be back and in other ways it feels so so different. Everything is completely different from life in Africa. I am so thankful for all of your continued prayers and we readjust back into life at home. I really cant put into words how thankful I am for each one of you and every prayer you lifted up this summer. I know my time and experiences would not have been the same without your faithful prayer covering. I am so blessed by each of you. Thank you for your love and support.

Blessings,
Kelly

Sorry for the delay...

2009-07-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!
I hope you are all doing well. I’m sorry I feel like I haven’t updated this blog in ages. Things have been so busy and the internet is such a hassle sometimes. Sorry if my communication has been lacking. It really is so slow and difficult to use the internet that if usually just frustrates me, just at the thought of it, so I haven’t been very consistent in emailing or blogging. I hope you know I still love and think about you every day.
Things have been great here. The team from Knoxville arrived last Friday & it was such a blessing to see them! So good to see familiar faces, and to have some dark chocolate brought all the way from the states. Hallelujah! The Knoxville team is on outreach right now, along with Chelsey and her team, so you can be sure to be praying for their time in the village, I’m sure it will be incredible.
It’s crazy to think we only have 2 weeks of school left here. We officially graduate 2 weeks from today. Wow. The time has really been flying by. It’s crazy to think I’ve spend 2 months in Mozambique. I do love it here. I feel so comfortable and familiar with the place and people now. It’s incredible.
Jesus is so good. I am learning so much about just resting in the Father’s love and letting Him take care of everything. He has shown me and taught me so much this summer…
Last night we had dinner with our Outreach team, which consists of about 10 Akunas (white people/mission students) and 12 or so of the Mozambican bible students. We had a good spaghetti dinner with pancakes for dessert. Such a treat! It was fun to hang out with the Mozambican men and hear some of their testimonies. It’s crazy the work that Jesus has done in their hearts, bringing them from such broken places into amazing men of God. Then today we were able to go into the villages around the base with our outreach team and pray for the people in the village. We basically just wander around going up to different houses where people are sitting outside and the Mozambican students tell them about Jesus and ask them if they want prayer. Today we prayed for a woman with a terrible toothache and after we prayed she was completely healed! Hallelujah! It was so amazing. It gave me such joy. To see the power and presence of God. The woman’s face lit up & she had a big smile. It was the first time I had seen any of the Mozambicans get excited to be healed. They usually just say they are better, but there is no change in their emotions, so its hard to know if anything really happened. Anyway, so she was healed & she ran over to get a friend of hers who told us she had some heart condition. So we prayed for her & she said she was a little bit better. So we prayed again & then the same thing happened, she lit up, big smile, and told us she was healed! Praise the Lord! It was so amazing. Such a good day. God is so big. He has totally shattered every box I had put Him in before coming to Mozambique. My mind is blown every day by new revelations of Him. I am excited to be coming home soon to share more and more of all the stories of the amazing works He has done, in and through me. So good.
Thank you for your continued prayers. They are so appreciated.
The boys are doing well. It was so neat when the Knoxville team got here and was able to meet the boys they had heard about through my blog and had been praying for. It was funny because the boys were not happy to hear I had friends from America coming because they thought it would mean less time with them, but after the Knoxville team took them out to lunch one day, they decided they were ok. Thank you so much for the prayers for the boys. Some days they wear me out. With requests and with their attitudes and their fighting, but they really give me so much joy. Everyone here tells me every day that they can’t believe I have the patience for them and tells me I have found the worst kids in Pemba. But they really are my joy. If a day goes by that I don’t see them, I feel like I’m missing something. I love my time with them. I love to love on them and receive love from them. A couple weeks ago as we were praying in church, Focas (the middle one) was holding my hand and walking around with me as I prayed over people. Then I just sat down and decided to pray over him and his brothers and I was just overcome with love for him. I just began to cry and cry. He looked at me and just laid down in my lap, letting me cry all over him. It is probably one of my most treasured memories from being here. God just revealed how much he loves those boys and how much he loves me and how much he loves each of His children. It is unreal. He loves so much it hurts. Ah God is so good. So anyway, I cannot wait to share pictures and stories and videos of the boys with you. (they LOVE taking my camera and making videos. Carlitus even made a special one for mom). The 2 older brothers keep asking if they can come home to America with me, they’ve even suggested just hiding in my luggage. I explained that security probably wouldn’t allow it. So funny. Please be praying for our hearts as time here wraps up. I am so thankful that the Lord promises to bring all works to completion, because I know He has started great works in these boys and I am certain that there is a big calling on their lives. It’s definitely going to be a struggle to have to say goodbye.
Thank you for your love and prayers. I am so looking forward to seeing you all in a few weeks. I pray that God is doing amazing works in your life wherever you continue to be this summer.
Blessings,
Kelly

the Joy of the Lord is Our Strength

2009-07-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

:) Thank you so much for all the prayers and encouragement. Days are flying by. I cant believe more than half my time here has already gone by. SO much has happened and it has just been so glorious! The Lord is teaching me so much and I cannot wait to come home and share the love and stories with each of you.
I hope you are all doing well back home. I am super excited because the team from cedar springs is coming in on friday! hallelujah for familiar faces!
today we had a really good church service with the mozambicans and it was such a joy. i love worship here because it is such a full on experience. we dance and sing & there is such freedom. today one of the older widows pulled me around and we danced and then she led me on stage where we danced with many other kids and women. it was so much fun. i cant wait to share pictures. then there was a really amazing prayer time where the lord hit me again with his love. he is so good. so so good. i am just so thankful to be serving such and amazing god.
thank you for all the love and prayers. sorry for another disjointed blog. i never know how to gather my thoughts on these things and i feel so rushed with the mozambican internet... not to mention my 4 brothers are here with me learning to play pinball and solitaire... oh the joys of modern technology.
i love you all!
kelly

Love. and be loved.

2009-07-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Happy 4th of July! I hope you all are having a spectacular weekend to celebrate the independence! It's kind of funny to celebrate here amongst several Brits...

I just got back from my first Outreach experience. I spent the past 3 days/2 nights camping out in a village here in Mozambique about 3 hours from us here in Pemba. It was an intense experience. My spirit is so tired. We went through the village praying for people and seeing healings and people come to Jesus. It was really incredible. There were so so many children. It was actually a little overwhelming... especially when I tried to start handing out stickers. But God was good. We showed the "jesus film" each night and watched and prayed and layed hands on people as they gave their lives to jesus. We saw miraculous healings. 2 deaf people regained their hearing. many stomachs and headaches were healed. it was really incredible. the power of god was definitely displayed.

one thing the lord really taught me today is the importance of loving and being loved. we are learning so much here that sometimes me head is just left spinning. sometimes i have to question what i am being taught because it is all so new & some of it is pretty far out there. but god is my teacher and he is good. but i just had a revelation today of the importance of being loved by god and then giving his love away. i think that is all we should be about. i cant do anything without his love. i dont want to learn how to heal or see miracles or do any of the crazy things they talk about hear if i am not doing it for the purpose of love. any encounter i have with him, i want to draw me closer into the heart of my Father, only so i can pour out that love to others. i dont just want some crazy experience that i can relate back to my friends and family who werent there to see it. i want to experience the love of god so that i can share it with others, so i can bring them joy and hope and healing.
some people are a lot easier to love. like the poor. i could sit with them and love on them all day. thats easy for me. but then when i had to pile into a truck with all my team members and i was tired and cramped in, it was harder for me to love them. but thats what i am called to. loving everyone. sometimes i really stuggle with loving those who are closest to me. so i just want to sne out my apologies and ask for your forgiveness when i do a horrible job of representing our Fathers love. I hope to learn more about his love this summer so i can come back and love those around me with a fuller heart. i am so thankful for all of the love you have each poured into me.
so right now i am just praying for more love encounters with the lord. i want to be so full of him and his love that it just oozes out of me and becomes easier and easier to love those around me. i want to see lives and hearts changed for the sake of love. thanks for joining with me in prayer.

thanks for reading. i hope you all are doing well back in the states or wherever you may be. i am so so thankful for all the prayers and encouragement. i'm praying that you all experience some amazing love encounters with the Father. i love you.
kelly

Hello America!

2009-06-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

Greetings! I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post. it seems like ages. so much has happened. its crazy. god is working in mozambique and in me in so many amazing ways. i have been hanging out with some kids from the village around our base and it has been a lot of fun. we play all the time. yesterday was mozambiques independence day so we had a fiesta on the beach. there were sodas and candy & it was so much fun.

i dont even know what to say about all the lord has been teaching me. i have been learning a lot about finding my identity in christ. christ in me the hope of glory! i am learning about my position as a beloved daughter of the king. i have always heard and read these things but he is revealing the truth of them into my heart and not just my head. i have felt the love of the father and it has been so so good and empowering. he is taking me deeper into him every day. it is so amazing. he is opening up my eyes to so much. we are learning about the power of his anointing and that he lives in us, giving us so much power and authority. ah it is so crazy. there is so much for to a life of following jesus than i ever experienced before. (sorry this is really spastic, i am here with my little mozambican brothers, showing them that michael jackson is indeed dead. they are shocked, as was i. he is a legend here. its really amusing to me) i am learning that god is really living and active and moving. he is speaking to me in new ways, it is so neat. ahh i just dont even know how to explain.

the warfare is heavy here because of all the advancement in kingdom. my days are kind of like a rollercoaster. some i wake up with so much joy, and some days with so much heaviness and tiredness. but i keep receiving grace to press into the school and classes and loving the kids.

i have one major prayer request- the boys who i always write about- carlito and fogar and hasam, the brothers. i have been hanging out with them everyday, as usual and i have really gotten to know and love them and the more time i spend with them the more i learn about them and the other night i was talking with carlito- the 13 year old and he opened up and told me about his abusive parents. it broke my heart. he cried as he showed me some of his scars and told me part of his story. we cried and prayed together. it has been really heavy on my heart. last night i was not able to sleep as i felt his pain and unrest. he wasnt able to go home last night because he was scared of the punishment that would await him at home. it just breaks my heart. so i ask you to be in prayer for the boys and their family. that there would be restoration. for the hearts of their parents. it has really opened my eyes up more to the calling god has on my heart for his children. the literal children. i know we are all gods children, but his little ones have especially been on my heart and i am discovering that i may have a lifelong call to help love and rescue his hurting or abandoned children. Heidi Baker keeps giving us messages about loving and serving the poor and they really strike something in my heart.

ok the boys are getting impatient in waiting for more news and videos about michael, so i am going to go devote some more attention to that.

thank you so much for you love and prayers and encouragement. they are so good for my heart. it makes me so happy to know you are reading my blogs and staying updated. i send you my love!

love love love
kelly

I never know how to title this thing...

2009-06-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

Today we began week 3! Crazy. It was been so good. This weekend was our first chance to have some serious free time. No early mornings and lots of time to just do whatever we wanted. On Saturday I took a couple of my boys (the 3 brothers who I love and adore and have basically spent every hour of free time with. their names are Carlitu, Fogar, and Hasam) to the beach. We had a great time splashing around in the beautiful, clear water.

Yesterday we went to church, which is always a fun experience here. Everyone is so alive. The Spirit is moving, active. Everyone is up and dancing and singing praises to the Lord. It is so beautiful. It reminds me of the last couple of Psalms- all about praising the Lord.

We have been spending a lot of time here learning and hearing testimonies about God's amazing power of healing. It is something I have never really heard much about actually happening in present times. But holy cow. The spirit is at work here. Teams here have seen tons of healings. I myself have only seen a few, but it is enough to change my way of thinking and praying. Like last week, Hasam (the youngest of the 3 brothers that I spend time with. I think he about 5) came into class and fell alseep in my lap, but he had a really deep chest cough (like bronchitis) and he was having a hard time sleeping because of it so I was just praying over him as he layed there. Then later on that day the kids told me that he was really sick and getting worse. He was so lethargic and it just broke my heart. His oldest brother- Carlitu, told me that the next day they were going to take him to the hospital to be looked at. So I prayed for him through the night, that his cough would be healed and that he would feel better and all of that and the next day, he shows up spunky & happy and didn't cough the whole day! we went to the beach, we played and ran all day and he was fine. Praise jesus! It was so neat to see the power of the Lord at work. I could give countless more stories of the Lord at work here and his powerful healing- the blind are seeing, the deaf hearing, it is crazy.

The Lord is doing lots in my heart, teaching me more every day. I am still having to work on resting in Him, not striving so much. It is hard, but good. He is meeting me every day.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and words of encouragement. I really cannot tell you how much each one of them means. I am so thankful for you, as my community of believers.

Please keep praying for my ability to handle everything that is being poured into me. There is so much to take in and sometimes I struggle to find time to want to be around any of the other students here with me. I hope to work up more of a desire to spend time with them, building community but it is hard when i want to spend all of my time either processing everything by myself, or playing with the kids.

thanks again for the love and prayers.
press on
kelly

Whew...

2009-06-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Greetings again!

Things have been going great here this week. I am meeting with the Lord every day in new ways. Getting "wrecked" as they like to say here. This week David Hogan has been speaking to us. He and his ministry have raised over 500 people from the dead. It is some pretty crazy powerful stuff. He is a little intimidating and I am not a huge fun of his method of preaching because he is very very harsh, but he is full of the Holy Spirit and the Lord is using him for great works.

I'm sitting here at the cafe with some more of my favorite kids, Carlo, his little brother and some friends. They follow me everywhere now, but I like it most of the time. They are really precious, helping me to translate and get around town. Lots of fun.

Every day I am learning more about the Lord and it has been so good. I am just so full of his joy and goodness today. I realized that I don't have the capability to love others unless I am first madly in love with Him. He woke me up refreshed and full of love today. And it is beautiful.

We had an intense time of prayer and repentance after our class with David Hogan today and it was really good. Hard, but good. I was really convicted about my unwillingness to die to self. I keep realizing that more and more each day. How I want to be in control of my life, instead of letting go and allowing Jesus to guide and direct my every word and movement. It's going to mean lots of dying, daily. And lots of changes. But I am eager to press into it. Scared, but eager.

We have only been here a little over a week but I already feel the Lord doing huge works in me. It is exciting and frightening all at the same time.

Again, I thank you for remembering me in your prayers. I am working to be in prayer for each of you daily as well. Thank you thank you thank you.

blessings,
kelly

sorry if this is really sparatic and disconnected, i am a little distracted by my young mozambican friends...

love you!

2009-06-06T00:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!

I hope you are all doing well. I have finished my first week of classes. Wow. It has been such an intense week. I don't really even know where to begin. As I sit here at the computer writing to all of you, I'm noticing that I am really homesick. I miss you all lots and lots. I would really appreciate you prayers for comfort and for peace...

It's been a busy week. We heard from Heidi Baker and from Randy Clark a few times. They both have incredible ministries and shared a lot of their stories, which were really incredible and encouraging. One of my favorites was Randy's story of Gideon in Judges 6-8 and how God called and used Gideon, who was so weak and small and inadequate. But the Lord called him a great warrior. And so he became one and God used him in incredible ways. I was really glad to be reminded that the Lord can use us even when we are week and inadequate and unknowledgable. Very glad.

The children here are so precious. I realized I haven't written or told you anything about them. They are so sweet. My new friend Nelson is sitting next to me here in the cafe. He pretty much goes everywhere with me. He is not an Iris kid but he lives in the village and comes by every day. He speaks a little english and portuguese and makua (the main language spoken here, which we are trying to learn, and is really difficult). He is so smart. He helps me with my translations. He says he is 13, but he looks like he is about 10 or 11. Everyone here is much smaller though than in the states. Anyway, Nelson is great. He has become a good friend. The kids here are so much fun. They love to walk alongside and hold your hand any chance they get. Yesterday I went over to the toddler house (where kids from babies- age 7ish hang out) and i brought over some nail polish and spent time painting all the girls nails. it was so much fun! even the tias (the... i guess we might call them nannies, or caretakers) wanted me to do their nails. it was a great time.

i have tons more i could write about but limited time and people are waiting so i'm going to run on. please continue to keep me in your prayers as i do the same for all of you. the lord has been good and gracious to me everyday and i am so thankful for that. he has given me amazing roommates to love and encourage me. thank you thank you thank you!

lots of love

kelly

Life at Pemba...

2009-06-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow.

I am here. And safe. The travels were all fantastic. Praise the Lord. We met up with a lot of Iris students in Jo-burg and traveled with them into Pemba, which was fun. We all keep talking about how we feel like we have been here forever, even though its only been 2 or 3 days.

What to say... so so much has gone on. Sunday afternoon we got here and all settled in. My roommate is Bec, she is amazing. She is 18, fresh out of high school from Australia. I struggle not to pick up her accent every time we talk. We live with a couple other girls in the house who are also a lot of fun. Every morning I wake up, looking into my mosquito net reminded that I am still here, in Africa, and I get so excited!!

Monday (yesterday) was Children's day at Iris, which is basically like Christmas for them. It is one of the biggest days of the year. We fed about 2,500 kids, Iris kids and local village kids. It was fantastic. All of the Iris kids got bags of gifts. They were so excited! It was so fun to share in the work of that day. At the end of the day we did a Fire Tunnel, which I had never heard of, but we all lined up making a tunnel and were asked to pray over and pour out blessings over all the kids as they went through leaving. It was an incredible experience. I think I was more blessed that any of the kids. I was moved to tears, which really isn't surprising. But by the end I was just weeping. Everyone was so overcome by the Holy Spirit. The people here are SO different from what I am used to back home. People were all "drunk off the Holy Spirit" and falling over laughing and crying and then just resting in the spirit. Chelsey and I both were really overwhelmed by it all. I had never been exposed to anything like it. So we were talking to some of the men at the missions school about it all and praying and it was a really sweet time... which led to more weeping and being met by the Holy Spirit. So yesterday was pretty intense. But very good.

Then today was our first day of class. We had 2 speakers, Randy... something, he apparently is really famous for his work as an evangelist. He talked to us about prophecies, which again was something new to learn about. But it was very good. Everything here is so spiritual, and being from the Episcopal and then Presbyterian church, it is very different. The next speaker was Heidi Baker, the founder of the school. She was fantastic. as expected. She spoke on the passage of the Good Samaritan, reminding and urging us everyday to "stop for the one" to be compelled by love. It was a great lecture, followed by an absolutely incredible time of prayer, where I again left weeping and struck my the Holy Spirit. This was for sure the most intense movement of the Spirit I have ever felt. I just lost control of myself and was weeping and shaking in a friend's arms. I felt the electricity of God in my hands. It's impossible to explain. Afterwards I was weak and shaky. Wow. I am sure there are going to be a lot more experiences like that this summer, which I am both excited for... and scared of. I am learning about releasing. I do not like to be out of control. But to be led by God I must completely offer control to Him. Control of my life and words and body.

The past few days have been like a rollercoaster. I've had moments of incredible fear, anxiety, joy, confusion, peace, excitement...and anything else you can probably name. But it has been good. I really do beg for your prayers. Everything here is exhausting, from trying to communicate in Portuguese to getting wrecked in times of worship. But I am so thankful for this time to share it with you. I wish I had more time and energy to share all that has happened, but I think this is it for now.

Please continue to pray for my ability to communicate with the locals here (I'm learning my spanish is very helpful) and for my willingness to hand over control to the Lord and however else the Lord leads you to pray. I am so thankful for every one of your prayers. I love you I love you I love you!

peace,

kelly

Safely in Johannesburg

2009-05-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord!!

We made it safely... after 26 hours and 3 flights of travel, we arrived in J-burg around 10:30 last night (local time). All our flights were great, we made it to each of them right on time (after hustling to get through the airports). But the timing was perfect.

Today Chelsey and I toured around Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, all day with our guide and new friend Martin. It was a lot of fun to ride around and explore. We learned all about South Africa's history. I still can't believe we are here!

Tomorrow our flight for Pemba leaves at 8:40 and then we'll be on our way. Not sure how frequent the updates will be from that point on.

I am so thankful for all of your prayers. I was super nervous Thursday morning as we left, but through yuor prayers and the work of the Lord I was incredibly comforted throughout the day. Everything went perfectly. I know that He is our caretaker & provider and in that i can find rest.

Thank you Thank you Thank you for your prayers!

Much love!
kelly

The Lord is Provider!

2009-04-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I am new to this whole blogging thing... a little bit nervous... but excited as well... I hope to be able to post updates throughout my trip so that everyone can stay updated on how to pray and praise throughout the journey.

So far the Lord has been nothing but faithful in his provision for my trip. He helped me to find my missing passport and has been so faithful in providing funds for me to be able to pay for my flights, tuition and whatnot. I am unable to even put into words how thankful I am to everyone who has so faithfully given to my trip. Everyday I am so humbled as I receive more and more support from friends and family. It has been such a testimony to God's goodness and provision, His promise to take care of us. I am thankful also to know and to feel that I am so covered in prayer. What a beautiful gift every one of you has given me. I thank all of you for playing such a huge role in my story.

So here are the updates:

flights are officially booked. Chelsey & I leave from Knoxville (lord willing) May 28 around 4pm, fly through Detroit, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Maputo and on into Pemba- where I will be staying.

due to the lack of flights in and out of Pemba, we have a days layover in Johannesburg, spending two nights in the city. so I really ask you to be praying for our time there. I am kind of nervous about traveling through such a dangerous, impoverished city, but I am trusting the Lord to take care of us and keep us safe.

my money is almost completely raised for the trip, Praise the Lord!

passport- check! still waiting to receive my visa in the mail.

chelsey is still working on raising support money so i ask all of you to continue in prayer, especially that we trust in Him, knowing that His timing is not always the same as our own.

I am really getting more and more excited every day for what is in store. I am so glad to be able to share this experience with all of you. Thank you for your prayers and concerns.

Love and Peace,
Kelly

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth...and from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." John 1:14, 16